Basil Hijaz
-September 2023
LinkedIn
With little to no resources, kids from Palestine keep breaking records and going places. Defying means of logic and what there is, with a laptop and internet access Basil was able to get to Google, Facebook, give a word in front of the German Minister, and more.
Starting as an aspiring boy with a love for mathematics, Basil knew nothing about computational problem-solving when he met his instructor Samed from Meshka, where they started their 3 years training journey about problem-solving, coding, programming, mathematics, and more. In the program, Basil got access to 1:1 learning, weekly sessions to assess his progress, countless problems to solve, and competition questions’ examples.
The very first remarkable competition in Basil’s journey was the qualification competition for the IOI International Olympics Informatics that took place in 2019, to choose the nominees who will be representing Palestine. He got 4th place and was nominated for the IOI competition for the first time; to prepare for this Basil was immersed in 3 months of intensive training and problem-solving before the competition date.
“I got around 40 points out of 600. Though it is not a lot, I knew I was hooked.; everything about being in this international competitive atmosphere, traveling and meeting with students from all over the world, and working on myself every day was so inspiring for me to do that again. “
Over the years, Basil's passion for coding grew, and he achieved remarkable milestones. In 2020, he and his team broke records for Palestinian competitors, scoring 100 points out of 600 at IOI. Additionally, they secured 7th place nationwide in the PCPC competition while also representing Palestine in Germany for a coding competition focused on children's rights.
In the following year 2020, IOI competition in Singapore we saw a noticeable upgrade in Basil’s level as he was able to secure 100 points out of 600 and was able to break the highest record for Palestinian competitors at that time with his team. Additionally, they secured 7th place nationwide in the ACM PCPC competition while also representing Palestine at “Coding for Children Rights” hackathon in Germany 2019/2020. Basil gave a speech in front of the minister of development about the programming idea they presented in the Hackathon.
After that, Basil participated in IC coding competition nationwide, he was able to win the 2nd place in Palestine.
“After that I graduated from high school but my role with Meshka did not stop here. I wanted to give back to the Meshka community and pass on this amazing opportunity they gave me for more students. I started to be an instructor for Meshka training and train younger students while I was at university.“
At university, Basil continued on his path with problem-solving and enrolled in university-level teams to continue participating in international competitions. For 3 consecutive years, Basil got first place in Palestine at the ACM PCPC competition, dominating this space fully and becoming the best competitive programmer in Palestine.
“We are working at Meshka to train the students to compete on the highest level from a young age. I believe this is a focal point when getting into competitions as it is all about practice.”
“If it wasn't for Meshka I wouldn't have been where I am today, at the moment I have a rate of entering one competition every week and I continue with my progress to compete internationally with my university.”
Basil and his team just qualified for the ICPC (International Collegiate Programming Contest) for the first time ever in the history of Palestine, taking place this November in Egypt. To qualify for the ICPC, they got the bronze medal in ACPC (Africa & Arab Collegiate Programming Contest) Also for the first time in the history of Palestine, this served as a groundbreaking achievement for him, a goal he always aimed for.
In the year 2022, Basil was able to get an internship at Facebook. Knowing that such an internship requires highly skilled candidates and is usually very competitive; he successfully passed all the tests they presented in addition to many interviews. This acceptance was made possible due to his high problem-solving and programming skills, which wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for Meshka's training and the competitions he participated in. It doesn't stop here, as he still has an internship with Google to start in August this year in Munich.
“Since day one at university, I never missed participating in any programming competition that took place on the university level. I can proudly say that me and my team never lost one, we dominated the first place.”
Basil also participated in “Google Hash Code” competition, an international yearly competition organized by Google, where he was able to rank 1st place nationwide over Palestine and the rank 240 over the world. Moreover, he participated in “Google Code Jam” for 5 consecutive years where he consistently secured 1st place over Palestine.
For university, due to his high scores, he was on the honors list for 3 semesters exempting him from payment which supported him financially in his journey. He also had an Erasmus year in Berlin, Germany.
“All of these opportunities were available to me due to my strong resume, which was only possible because of all the competitions I participated in and my high scores, which takes us back to where it all started; Meshka”.
Basil is currently in Berlin doing his Erasmus semester, he is top-rated in Palestine in 3 different platforms, codeforces, atcoder, and leetcode. Due to the intensive training and the countless problems Basil got to solve with Meshka, he became Palestine’s highest-rated competitive programmer, breaking all records in the process.
Basil volunteered with the POI Palestinian Olympics Informatics competition that qualifies the students for IOI, he wrote the questions for more than one competition for the students to solve and be well prepared for the Olympiad.
“One of the most significant challenges that I know every student faces in this process is getting “stuck”. The fact that you are making quite high progress, you’re doing well, then suddenly everything stops working, and no matter how many more problems you’ll solve it doesn't seem you're getting it”
Basil’s advice for students when they get to this point is to not give up, it is a very normal part of the process and you’ll break through it very soon, it is very important to know that this is just a phase and it’s only a matter of time that you’ll see results.
Moving forward, Basil is focusing on graduating from university with the highest grades, he is determined to continue in the problem-solving field. After getting the bronze medal in ACM ACPC he is aiming for the gold medal in the ICPC. “It is not easy, it is very highly competitive, it is the first time for Palestine to participate in such a competition.”
For Basil it is not just a competition it is a message. With every medal he gets, the rank he earns, he is changing outdated beliefs over his country. He is changing how people see Palestine as a country that is still behind in problem-solving competition, to show that it has successful individuals who are up to date with technologies, education, etc.
Moreover, he believes the golden era of coders in Palestine is now serving as instructors for Meshka to further train students to continue the amazing sequence of achievements and get more medals.
“I am hoping to help Meshka to do this with everything that I can”
“This experience completely transformed my life, all of the opportunities that are now available to me to travel, work, excel, know people from all over the world, I wouldn’t have been here without the training”
“It means the world to me to be able to give a voice to my country Palestine. What makes me extremely proud is when I introduce myself as a Palestinian in international competitions, I believe I am changing the narrative and giving people a better idea of what Palestine is really like. When we win a high rank, everyone is talking about the team that came from Palestine.”